‘Sex and consequences’ -- the rise of a fatherless nation

“Sex without consequence,” the abiding myth of the Left, is imposing a terrible cost as children in America suffer under the scourge of irresponsible adults.

As Luke Rosiak notes in The Washington Times (“Fathers disappear from households across America,” Dec. 25), the ratio of two-parent homes has dropped dramatically over the past decade. Even as the number of families with children grew by 160,000, the number of two-parent homes fell by 1.2 million.

At present, a third of all U.S. children – some 15 million – live without a father in the home. Another 5 million live with single fathers. To compare: In 1960, the ratio of children living in a single-parent home was closer to one in 10.

To be sure, much of the responsibility (or irresponsibility?) of this troubling trend lies with fathers who abandon their duties to mothers and children. But that abandonment is simply an outgrowth of the decoupling of sex from any formal commitment, and a growing societal acceptance of single motherhood. (And, by extension, absent fathers.)

While no race is immune from absent fathers, this plays out most forcefully in African-American families. “In all but 11 states, most black children do not live with both parents. In every state, 7 in 10 white children do,” Rosiak writes. Nationally, about 7 in 10 Black children are born to single mothers.

The belief, especially among many in the Black community, that mothers and children are often better off without a father in the home is belied by the facts.

Single mothers, who often come into motherhood young, are typically unable to complete the schooling they need to get a good job. That puts the average income for single mothers in the U.S. at a pitiful $24,000 a year. As a study funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation notes, it is difficult for young, never-married mothers to collect child support, because many fathers in this situation have very low wages. (“U.S. Children in Single-Mother Families,” Mark Mather, Ph.D., 2010) Average income for married couples in the U.S. is $80,000.

Poverty alone puts children at a disadvantage, as mothers struggling to put food on the table are less able, for instance, to afford child care, buy books for the home or provide other enriching opportunities that give kids a boost when they go to school.

Not only are those mothers less able to provide for their children financially, but they are less able to provide basic parenting. There are only so many hours in the day and single mothers, who are often forced to work multiple jobs, just don’t have the same time to be there for their children to provide needed guidance and discipline.

Having no father in the home can lead to disaster. Rudderless children often run into trouble with the law.

This truth is tragically illustrated for Savannah by an interactive map included with the Washington Times story (available here). The map, which indicates areas with the highest rates of single-parent homes, is a virtual overlay of the high-crime areas in the Hostess City.

It’s a dynamic played out again and again in every metro area across the country.

The answer to this dilemma is three-fold:

· A rediscovery of the value of fathers in the home

· A refocusing away from selfish, short-term sexual desires in favor of the commitment that leads to long-term joy

· And, similarly, a reawakening to an outward focus on the inevitable children of sexual unions, and their best interests.

No amount of spending on social programs will address the root cause of directionless youth. It is up to individuals to reclaim their responsibilities as supportive fathers and mothers, and thus to raise up a new generation of responsible Americans.